Over the past twenty years we have been blessed with a virtual explosion of information technology. As with any social movement, certain questions deserve attention: Why is it that virtually every public gathering, regardless of severity or context, is punctuated by incessant phone calls, sporting an impressive and distracting array of chimes and sounds and tunes? Why is it that the first reaction during any break in a meeting is for all the participants to haul out their blackberries (or equivalent) and check their emails rather than to simply look one another in the eye and get better acquainted with those with whom one is meeting? How many automobile accidents have been caused by text messaging while driving? Although the impact on societyboth beneficial and perverse–is monumental, and deserving of our attention, I would like to focus more simply at present on the impact of this virtual informational revolution on the medical profession.
Several years ago, the Human Genome Project announced its preliminary findings approximately a decade ahead of schedule. Perhaps rare if not unique in the annals of government-sponsored projects, this one came in so early basically because, at the time it was conceived, there was no ability to anticipate the massive improvement in information processing technology which enabled the compilation and analysis of information many orders of magnitude faster and more efficiently than could had ever been foreseen at project inception. Likewise, this processing capability has literally changed the manner in which scientific investigation is pursued. Standard scientific process involves the analysis of currently available information with regard to a certain phenomenon to generate a hypothesis, which is then tested with an experiment, which then either confirms or rejects the hypothesis. However, we now can reverse the process. In genetics, for example, if we want to try to understand what genetic predisposition exists with regard to a specific disease entitylet us say coronary artery disease, or congestive heart failure, we can analyze the genetic composition and expression of a population with the disease and compare it with a population which does not have the disease, and then look for the areas of difference. Even without knowing why a given piece of genetic information is related to the diseaseindeed, even without knowing what that genetic information does in generalwe can establish a relationship which then becomes the more fruitful area for future research. Rather than looking for a needle in the haystack, this approach is more comparable to applying a magnet to the haystack without knowing where to look and seeing what gets attached. Thus we have an entirely new field of medicine, medical informatics, which is basically the science of how to best use information to arrive at conclusions.
In a similar vein, we are now able to process large amounts of information regarding defined populations that enable us to use robust statistical tools to help us to gain insight into clinical practice. For example, there are now literally hundreds of thousands of entries into the Society of Thoracic Surgeons clinical database, which is actively being used not only to track but improve surgical results. Similar developments are apparent in cardiology and elsewhere throughout the profession. Likewise, the ability to track and integrate information holds the potential to diminish human error in the medical process, which, according to the Institute of Medicine, could save nearly 100,000 preventable deaths each year.
However, as suggested by the opening paragraph, such advances do not come without their problems. What will be the fate of large storehouses of personal medical information? How well can they really be protected? Will they be used to discriminate in the workplace or insurance industry? Will they be sold for profit incentive? Even on a less grandiose scale, we might be delighted that there is currently an enormous amount of valuable medical information readily available in the public domain on the internet. However, it is mixed with an enormous amount of disinformation, sometimes with precious little ability to distinguish between the two. Moreover, information is just thatinformation. It is the integration of information which generates knowledge and the integration of knowledge that leads to understanding. The mere fact that there is information available in no way enables the medically uneducated to begin to make prudent medical decisions, even though the temptation is somewhat intuitive and irresistible.
At the Florida Heart Research Institute, we welcome the challenges of the information age. Our leading edge research is actively involved in the use of information technology to achieve a greater understanding of the complex relationship between genetic expression and cardiovascular disease. Our clinical database reviews apply up-to-date statistical modeling to help learn best clinical practice from previous clinical experience. Our educational efforts on both the lay and professional levels seek to provide well-founded, readily understandable and ground-breaking but relevant information. Information itself is somewhat value-neutral. It is what we chose to do with it that will define how we meet the challenges. As with all of our efforts at FHRI, we seek to blaze the trails.
Over the past twenty years we have been blessed with a virtual explosion of information technology. As with any social movement, certain questions deserve attention: Why is it that virtually every public gathering, regardless of severity or context, is punctuated by incessant phone calls, sporting an impressive and distracting array of chimes and sounds and tunes? Why is it that the first reaction during any break in a meeting is for all the participants to haul out their blackberries (or equivalent) and check their emails rather than to simply look one another in the eye and get better acquainted with those with whom one is meeting? How many automobile accidents have been caused by text messaging while driving? Although the impact on societyboth beneficial and perverse–is monumental, and deserving of our attention, I would like to focus more simply at present on the impact of this virtual informational revolution on the medical profession. 
